Indicator



H. V. HARDING INDICATOR March 19, 19 9.

2 Sheets-Sheet OUIlLllllllll INVENTOR Filed May 27, 1927 5.HommilUfardby March 19, 1929.

H. v. HARDING INDICATOR Filed May 27,- 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTORHamil/7y,

ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 19, 1929.

UNITED: STATES v 1,705,973 PATENT OFFICE- HOWARD v. HARDING, ornunsonjnnw YORK, AssIGNoR' TO cIFroRn-woon M- PANY,'OF Hanson, NEW YORK,A CORPORATION or new YORK.

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Application filed May 27,

This invention relates to indicators, and among other ob ects, aims toprovide-a reliable, accurate, smoothly-working indicator, which is welladapted for use with trolley bucket conveyor installations. I 1 In theaccompanying drawings which il-. lustrate one embodiment of theinvention:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the indicator; Fig. 2 is a rear elevationof the same;

ing connections for the indicator.

Referring first to Fig. 6, the preferred form of the invention has apanel bearing indicia, a pointerlfmovable across the panel, a rope or'cable 12 Weighted as at 13,

and guided by pulleys; adjacent the panel,

the pointer 11 being attached to the rope so as to reciprocate with it,and a mechanism 14 for moving the rope very slowly but synchronouslywiththe device whose motion the indicator signals. Preferably the mechanism1 1 is also used for actuating a pair of limit switches, as describedand claimed in my copending application filed on the same day as thiscase, and is advantageously driven as described in my copendingapplication filed October 27, 1926.

In a typical trolley bucket conveyor system, the bucket is lowered intoa pit to receive its load and is then hoisted until it hangs just belowthe trolley, which is supported from an elevated monorail. The loadedbucket is then conveyed over a series of bins or silos and after beinglowered into one of the bins, dumps its load automatically. Suchinstallations are particularly designed to permit handling of a maximumamount of material at a minimum labor cost and are frequently operatedby one man who stands at the motor controls and hence is unable-to seethe position of the bucket except when it is close by. It will beunderstood that if a loaded bucket were lowered so as to strike thesides of a concrete wall, the bucket might be so seriously damaged as toforce shutting down of the plant, while if the bins or silos are builtout of wood, the walls might be so seriously damaged that the bin couldnot be used until repairs had been effected. Hence the desirability ofan accurate indicator which may be capacity of the plant, the materialsto be han- 1927. Serial No. 194,843.

placed in front of theoperator and which may be depended upon to informhim when .the bucket may be safely lowered. It is also desirable so to.construct the indicator that it may be adjusted to suit conditionsat-each installation. This is necessary: because the location andspacingof bins and silos usually varies with each installation,depending upon the amount of ground which is available, the

Hing attached to the carriage 15 and extend ing' over a guiding pulley18 to the weight 13. Thus the rope 12 is maintained under constanttension throughout its entire length, and reciprocates synchronouslywith the movement of the mechanism 14.

To indicate the stations at which the bucket is to be hoisted andlowered a series of indicia 19 is carried in front of the board,preferably on a rod 20, each indicium being individually adjustable onsaid rod. As shown in Fig. 5, each indicium is split as at 21 and has aclamping screw 22 at right angles to the split so that it may be clampedsecurely on the rod. To make the indicia readily distinguishable fromeachother, each may carry a symbol, such as a numeral, as shown inFig.1. For more accurate determination of'the position of the bucket,the indicia may have pointed extensions 23 which the end of the pointer11 closely" approaches as the pointer travels over the indicia. This isadvantageous because the movement of the pointer is very greatly reducedas compared with the movement of the bucket and any refinement in thedetermination of. the movement of the pointer will aid in the preciselocation of thebucket and will tend to prevent damage to the bucket. I

When the indicator is first'set, the number of indicia to be placed uponthe rod 20 will be selected to correspond with the number of 1 bins orstations at which the bucket is to stop from time to time. The spacingof the indicia will be determined empirically. Ii through stretching ofthe rope 20, or from other causes, it should later develop that theindicia are not properly located, any one or all oat them may be easilyrelocated by merely loosening the corresponding screws 22 and. movingthem a short distance on the rod 20 and tightening the screws again.

Obviously the present invention is not restricted to the particularembodiment thereoi herein shown and described. Moreover, it is notindispensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly,since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations andsub-combinations.

What I claim is 1. An indicator comprising, tion, a rope; a speedreducing mechanism to efiiect reciprocation of the rope responsive tomovements of the device whose motion is to be signaled; a pointerconnected with the rope; means for guiding the pointer in its travel; asupport; and a series of indicia on the support, each indicium beingindividually adjustable on the support to adapt the indicator to theconditions of an installation.

2. An indicator comprising, in combination, a support; a track securedto the support; a carriage having wheels supporting and guiding it alongthe track; a pointer secured to the carriage; a series of indicia on incombina-- the support; and means connecting the can riage with thedevice whose motion is to be signaled, transmitting power from saiddevice to the carriage to cause the pointer to travel synchronously withsaid device.

3. An indicator comprising, in combinathe support; a series ofindicia-bearing elements on the rod; each element being clamped to therod and being movable individually along the rod; each element having apointed extension directed toward the path of the pointer; j

4. An indicator comprisng, in combination, a support; a rod secured tothe support; a se ries oi indicia on the rod each indicium being clampedto the rod and being adjustable individually; a monorail; a carriagehaving upper and lower wheels engaging the monorail for travel thereonwithoutwobbling; a pointer secured to the carriage; and means connectingthe carriage with the device whose motion is to be signaled,transmitting power from said device to the carriage to cause the pointerto travel synchronously with said device.

In testimony, that 1 claim the foregoing a." my own, I have heretoaffixed my signature.

HOWARD V. HARDING

